Epistemic anxieties and colonial common sense

Along the Archival Grain attempts to illuminate both the processes of colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies through their archival records and the processes of historical research in untangling these narratives. Stoler goes through the personal letters, as well as the official reports of particular civil servants, painting a broader picture of their world-view and life in the Indies. She traces the evolving attempts to classify and control the diff erent groups in the Dutch colonies, which was particularly marked by ambivalence towards Indies-born Dutch, and concern about those raised in the Indies.

Stoler, Laura Ann. 2009. Along the Archival Grain: Epistemic Anxieties and Colonial Common Sense. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. 314 pages. 978 0 691 14636 2

Download PDF from menu on right to read full review »